April 19, 2016: Pine, Alicia and I woke to do a little moonlight hiking in the cool pre-dawn hours. Alicia needed a package in Mt. Laguna and was worried she wouldn’t make it- we were determined we could prove her otherwise, and would move quicker without the heat of the dsy to contend with.  Pine had a reservation at the campground there.  Thank you Pine!  We enjoyed a relaxed hike, if pretty chilly going up into the mountains and out of the desert again.  TicTaks helped tremendously. 

But the big news of the day…  I got a trail name!!!  Pine suggested “Smooth.”  Why “Smooth” you ask?  Well, rest assured it has nothing to do with my romantic prowess on the trail.  It refers to my “smooth” hiking gait.  No wasted motion.  Well – I accepted it and it stuck.  I am now Smooth on the trail.

Got into Mt. Laguna arount 11 and haf breakfast. Resupplied a bit out of the Mt. Laguna store, where I heard for the thousandth time that I was “walking home.”  I said, yeah – my family dropped me off at the Mexican Border and told me I had to walk home. On my way!

Miles: 11.98

Elevation gain/loss: 2152/-641